The Disappearance of Jimmy Farenthold Part 3: Running Out of Road

The Disappearance of Jimmy Farenthold Part 3: Running Out of Road

Author: TTC Productions September 22, 2025 Duration: 30:45
Most disappearances leave echoes—missing persons flyers, TV reports, police pleas for tips. But when James Robert “Jimmy” Farenthold vanished in the spring of 1989, there was only silence. No bulletin. No headlines. No public outcry. Just absence.

Jimmy wasn’t just anyone. He was the youngest son of one of Texas’s most prominent dynasties, a family bound by oil, politics, and power. But behind the legacy was a private story of grief and dysfunction. Jimmy had been born a twin—and when his brother Vincent died suddenly, Jimmy became the “one who lived,” carrying scars that shaped the rest of his life.

Charming yet reckless, Jimmy drifted through addiction, rehab programs, and cities across the South. In April 1989, he promised a fresh start. Bags packed, ticket in hand, he was set to enter a Florida treatment program. Instead, he disappeared. His car, his passport, even his clothes—left behind.

What followed was not the frantic search you’d expect for the son of a famous family. Instead, his disappearance became another fracture inside an already divided household. A father chasing rumors. A mother haunted by silence. A family dynasty unraveling.

Part 3 of 3 of our series follows Jimmy’s apparent final days, the dead ends that followed, and the generational weight of a name built on both power and tragedy.

If you have information about the disappearance of James Robert “Jimmy” Farenthold, please contact the San Antonio Police Department at 210-207-8939. 

Sources: The Corpus Christi Caller-Times, The Port Aransas South Jetty, The Houston Chronicle, The San Antonio Express-News, Texas Monthly, Texas Observer, texashistory.unt.edu, The Los Angeles Times, The University of Texas School of Law – Frances Tarlton “Sissy” Farenthold Archives Project

You can support gone cold and listen to the show ad-free at https://patreon.com/gonecoldpodcast

Find us at https://www.gonecold.com

For Gone Cold merch, visit https://gonecold.dashery.com Follow gone cold on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, and X. Search @gonecoldpodcast at all or just click https://linknbio.com/gonecoldpodcast

#WhereIsJimmyFarenthold #CorpusChristi #CCTX #TX #Texas #TrueCrime #TexasTrueCrime #ColdCase #TrueCrimePodcast #Podcast #ColdCase #Unsolved #Murder #UnsolvedMurder #UnsolvedMysteries #Homicide #CrimeStories #PodcastRecommendations #CrimeJunkie #MysteryPodcast #TrueCrimeObsessed #CrimeDocs #InvestigationDiscovery #PodcastAddict #TrueCrimeFan #CriminalJustice #ForensicFiles

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/gone-cold-texas-true-crime--3203003/support.

The stories that haunt a community often linger long after the headlines fade, waiting for someone to listen. Gone Cold-Texas True Crime is a podcast dedicated to those unresolved narratives, focusing specifically on the vast and complex landscape of Texas. Each episode delves into a different mystery, from long-unsolved homicides and disappearances that have left families searching for decades to other enigmatic cases that have stubbornly resisted explanation. The sheer size and diverse history of Texas provide a unique backdrop for these investigations, where details can be as sprawling as the state itself. Produced by TTC Productions, this series approaches each case with a focus on the facts and the human stories at their core, avoiding sensationalism in favor of thoughtful examination. When you listen, you’ll hear a detailed recounting of events, often including what is known about the individuals involved and the investigative paths that were followed, all while considering the questions that remain unanswered. This podcast serves as an audio record for cases that deserve renewed attention, exploring the lingering impact on communities and the hope that new information might still emerge. It’s for those drawn to the intricacies of real-life mysteries and the understanding that some of the most compelling stories are those without an ending.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Gone Cold - Texas True Crime
Podcast Episodes
No Trace: The Disappearances of Pamela and Michael Mayfield [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 20:00
In January of 1985, siblings Michael and Pamela Mayfield were last seen getting into a vehicle willfully on their way home from school. The six-year-old and five-year-old, respectively, were never seen again. Efforts to…
The Coldblooded Killing of Leslye Koon [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:22
On January 24th, 1969, one of Gregg County, Texas’s most cold-blooded and savage murders occurred: that of 17-year-old Longview High School senior Leslye Dian Koon. The slaying prompted one of the city’s most extensive a…
Of Hell: Texas True Crime, Slayer Saint Part One: Danita [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:45
In April 1974, 16-year-old Danita Ann Cash drove to the abandoned Trinity River Bridge, better known in local lore as “Screaming Bridge,” to pick up her brother from target practice. But instead of finding the boys, she…
The Assassination of Sammy Rogers [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:04
On Halloween morning in 1984, a masked gunman lay in wait inside a garage in the tiny Stephens County community of Caddo, Texas. When oilman and civic leader Sammy Martin Rogers went to investigate a report of a prowler,…
The Murder of Heather Leann Pope [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 18:07
In July 2010, twenty-nine-year-old Heather Leann Pope left her mother’s home in Royse City, Texas, telling her she was going to visit a friend. She never returned. Days passed without a call or message, something that im…
The Murder of Betty Ann Thomas [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:37
In April 1988, the quiet lakeside community of Lakeway, Texas was shaken when 45-year-old Betty Ann Thomas vanished from her home on Cold Water Lane. A violent scene inside the residence suggested a targeted attack, and…
Introducing Of Hell: Texas True Crime [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 7:37
This is a preview of Of Hell: Texas True Crime, a narrative investigation into the darkest crimes committed on Texas soil.From the creators of Gone Cold, each episode dives deep into cases where violence leaves a permane…
The Shooting of Suzanne Hummel [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 19:38
On the morning of November 13, 1992, Suzanne Marie Hummel, a 39-year-old mother of two, parked in the busy lot of Rice Epicurean Market at Kirby and West Alabama in Houston, a familiar spot she used to wait before work.…
The Murder of Schoolteacher Jana Carol Simpson [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:29
On August 28, 1989, 24-year-old Jana Carol Simpson walked into her portable classroom at Glen Park Elementary School in southeast Fort Worth for her very first day of teaching in the district. Not long after, she was fou…
The Disappearance and Slaying of Cindy Davis Rendon [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 20:30
In February of 1983 23-year-old Austin mother Cindy Davis Rendon vanished from her parents’ home in Northeast Austin. It was a normal Tuesday morning — Cindy fed her baby daughter, spoke briefly with her parents before t…